Trend data to assess the Berlin research area and the role of the BUA
The Berlin University Alliance (BUA), founded in 2018, is the only excellence alliance in Germany to date. In view of the upcoming evaluation, the question arises as to how scientists assess the development of the Berlin research area and how the role of the BUA is seen in this context.
The Berlin research area is rated as very good overall (see Figure 1). Internationality and research quality, two important goals of the BUA, received the highest ratings. Here, 88% and 91% of respondents, respectively, gave a good rating. Most also gave positive ratings to the innovation potential and the associated ability to cooperate, as well as to research autonomy. The trend also shows that there were already mostly positive ratings in 2022 and that these even increased by 2024.
There is greater potential for development in other fields of action of the BUA. For example, knowledge transfer, the implementation of open science and the promotion of young talents are viewed more critically, albeit still mostly positively. Only the material and institutional framework conditions are rated as (rather) poor by a majority. The values were already poor in 2022 and have deteriorated further within the last two years. Only 42.9% of respondents currently rate this aspect of the Berlin research area as good or very good.
Figure 1 Assessment of the Berlin research area, in trend
In order to assess the role of the BUA in the Berlin research area, its visibility and the reach of various BUA activities were measured first. As in 2022, the 2024 survey asked to what extent respondents were aware of the BUA or were themselves involved in BUA activities. As Figure 2 shows, the proportion of those who are not aware of the BUA has decreased from 15.3% to 11.3% in the last two years. There was also a slight increase in almost all types of involvement in the BUA. The Berlin University Alliance can also use this indicator to reflect on the reach of its communication and project-related measures.
Figure 2 Figure: Involvement in the BUA, trend
For the following assessment of the role and impact of the BUA in the Berlin research area, those who had never heard of the BUA were excluded. Figure 3 presents these assessments, which are based on image assessments. Thus, the image of the BUA has improved in some respects over the last 2 years, with slightly more people now believing that the Berlin research area is becoming more innovative and international as a result of the BUA.
Figure 3 Assessment of the role of the BUA, trend
In summary, it can be said that the scientists largely consider the Berlin research area to be well positioned with regard to many of the target dimensions addressed by the BUA, such as innovation potential, ability to cooperate, and internationality. In the past two years, the Berlin University Alliance has succeeded in increasing both its visibility among scientists and their participation in the BUA's activities. For most respondents, its work is associated with a positive image and creative power. On the other hand, the conditions for scientific work are viewed much more critically. This applies in particular to the material and institutional conditions (keyword administration, see newsletter 05/24), but also to the promotion of young talent, which is also rated much lower by scientists than other target dimensions. If things are going well on the whole and only a few aspects need to be addressed, then this also has advantages for the organization. It can concentrate on these aspects without neglecting the other aspects.
The Berlin Science Survey
The Berlin Science Survey (BSS) is a scientific trend study on cultural change in the Berlin research landscape. To this end, the Robert K. Merton Center for Science and Technology Studies at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin regularly surveys the experiences and assessments of scientists in the Berlin research area online. 2,776 female scientists in the Berlin research area took part in the most recent study. We would like to express our sincere thanks to everyone who took part in the study. The various and sometimes complex topics of the current survey will be successively evaluated in the coming months and the results published.